The Orioles have been looking for a way to improve their offense and move Manny Machado down from leadoff into an RBI slot.

Mission accomplished.

Baltimore obtained Gerardo Parra from the Brewers – a player the Mets had targeted off and on the past few weeks — at the cost of pitching prospect Zach Davies.

Parra is a good player having his best year. His .886 OPS ranks 18th in the majors – just ahead of Buster Posey and Andrew McCutchen. That he can hit leadoff allows the Orioles to drop Machado to third in the lineup, just ahead of Adam Jones.

The Orioles and Blue Jays began Friday two games out of the second wild card and six behind the Yankees in the AL East. Both have now upgraded their offenses (Toronto’s already powerhouse attack adding Troy Tulowitzki) at a time when the Yankees’ rotation is wobbling.

The Orioles have only six more games against the Yankees while the Blue Jays have 13.